The porchlite

Our community continues to grieve the violence suffered by people of color at the hands of police officers. This past year has been particularly devastating, first with the shooting of Philando Castile a year ago and more recently, with the not-guilty verdict in the Yanez trial.

This has been a painful time for many people in this community and people who are part of this organization.

Philando Castile was part of our community, and he was loved by many people who live here. He worked at J.J. Hill Montessori School, and he continues to be missed by the students, parents, and faculty. He was a good person, and his loving family has endured unimaginable pain. This tragedy could have been prevented. The Summit-University (District 8) Planning Council Board of Directors wants our community and City Officials to understand that real change is needed to ensure tragedies like this never happen again. SUPC stands ready to work collaboratively with organizations and officials in St. Paul to make it so.

Since the verdict, several community conversations have been held, as well as demonstrations and peaceful protests. We support the community and the people who are facilitating this work because our collective voice is so important right now. Summit-University (District 8) Planning Council Board of Directors stands committed to help develop an open dialogue with the community to begin addressing issues and concerns around injustice, on-going tensions, and other community issues. We are here for everyone in this community, and we look forward to working on resolving these concerns together!